Bucket elevator and supporting apparatus



Dec. 23, 1958 E. H. OIDTMAN: 2,865,495 BUCKET ELEVATOR AND SUPPORTING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 10, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IAA ENTO R: ELsTo/v h. mar/4mg Dec. 23, 1958 E. H. OlDTMAN BUCKET ELEVATOR AND SUPPORTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 10, 1954 m N 5 E MN W All 6 o 1 MN T n M //mm/ 1 .m 4 ml 5 T Ea m n a :1: w W m v r 3 A w 5 0 H fi l m n F M mwwm I III w lllll m1 4 3 M m am 1 m F a...- 5 m M 5 G F 2,3 l Patented Dec. 23, 1 $58 sooner ELEVATGR AND surronrmo APPARATUS 1 Elston H. flidtrnan, St. Louis, Mo.

@riginal application November 10,1954, Serial-No. 467,%6. Divided and, this application August 22,

1955, Serial No. 529,868

4 Claims. (ill. 198-208) This invention relates to improvements in elevators, and in particular is concerned with a bucket elevator operating upon a continuous chain guided by a boom. The boom is provided with a ground support through which it is furnished with power and a top support whereby it may be spaced from a roof cornice and the like to allow the delivery of the buckets on the elevator to a point adjacent thereto.

By means of this invention, there has been provided a bucket elevator which has the multi-featured advantages of portability in separate units, flexibility in length, ease in set-up and adjustment, and ruggedness in construction. The main elements of the bucket elevator and its supporting apparatus include a base for a motor and a trunnion bearing attached to the base for supporting the boom, a trunnion boom of variable. length adapted to be easily inserted within the trunnion bearing, adjustable means on the boom for taking up slack on the conveyor chain, and an adjustable boom support for securing the top of the boom in a desired position on the roof cornice of a building, and the like.

Through the various features of this invention, there has been provided a bucket elevator apparatus which can be taken from disassembly and assembled by contractors, workmen and the like, in a minimum of time without any requirement of special know-how so that unskilled workmen can assemble the apparatus. When broken down, the bucket elevator apparatus can be stored in a compact area, and through this invention a very a cornice of a roof and the like in a preselected position with respect to said cornice.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a bracket means for the supporting of the top of a boom elevator through a lock and pin device in the bracket upon which the boom rests, and in which the boom can.

be released for withdrawal'by a simple removal of the pin adjusting means.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an elevator of the boom type having a base for supporting a boom and a motor, a boom of adjustable length which may be positioned upon the base without the requirement of any adjusting means, eccentric adjustment means for an endless chain on the boom, and supporting means permitting the preselected support of a boom with rei spect to a roof 7 cornice, and the like, in which all of great flexibility and adaptability in operation have been made possible.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a bucket elevator apparatus having a boom and a base support and boom securing means at thetop portion thereof, which permit easy assembly of these components and flexibility of positioning the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide an elevator of the boo-m type in which the boom is provided with driving means which can be secured upon a base support without the requirement of any attachments or adjustments for positioning.

A further object of this invention is to provide a base i support for an elevator of theboom type having means for mounting a motor thereon in an adjustable manner to effect the tightening of a pulley belt to driving means in the boom without requiring any boom adjustment.-

Still another object of this invention is to provide an elevator of the boom type having an endless chain guided thereon with means for effecting the tightening of the chain through an eccentric adjustment device.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an elevator of the boom type and a base support therefor with driving means on the boom, which can be connected to a prime moving device on the base insuch manner that the base receives the base of the boom in any desired position of rotation without the requirement of adjustments.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a support for the top of a'boom elevator by attachment to these components may be assembled from the disassembled relationship in a minimumof time and labor by unskilled workmen.

Further objects of this invention will appear in the detailed description which follows and will be further apparent to those skilled in the art.

For the purpose of description and example, there is illustrated in the drawings a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it is to be understood that this illustration is for the purpose of example only, and that the invention is not limited thereto.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 467,966, filed November 10, 1954.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a view in side elevation of the bucket elevator supported against a roof cornice shown in dotted lines;

Figure '2 is a view in top elevation of the boom supporting mechanism taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in front elevation of the base support for the bottom portion of the boom, showing, in addition, the motor mount;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the base support and motor mount of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged view in side elevation of the s top portion of the boom showing the eccentric means for adjusting the topsprocket wheel for the endless chain;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, but taken in front elevation; and

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 1, showing the sectional construction of the boom.

As shown in Figure 1, the bucket elevator generally indicated at it) includes as its main components a base support it, a boom 12, and a boom support 13 secured to a roof cornice 14 shown in dotted lines. All of these parts are separable from one another, in a variable and expeditious manner to make the bucket elevator fully portable and adapted to be set up in a minimum of time and labor, as will be fully described below.

The base support 11, as shown in Figure l, and more particularly in Figures 3 and 4, includes a base frame 213, a trunnion support 21, and a motor support 22. The motor support for supporting the motor 29, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, includes a latitudinal brace 23 connected to the base frame and two partial longialignment with two sleeves 30 and 31 which are fastened to the base frame. A pin 32 extends therethrough, as more particularly shown in Figures 3 and, 4, to provide for pivotal arrangement of the motor base plate 26. Two

are provided at their top with trunnion bearings 42 and 43, which flare outwardly at their tops so as to easily the trunnions on the bucket elevator boom which will be described.

The boom of the bucket elevator, as more particularly shown in Figures 1 and 7, is composed of two sections 55 and 51. It is, however, obvious that where the boom is desired to be extended in length an intermediate section or sections of the same construction as these boom sections can be provided where desired. The boom sections are constructed of four pieces of tubular steel 52, 53, 54'.-

and 55. Resting on the'top of the tubular steel members 1 52 and 55 are wear plates 56 and 57 which extend along the length of the boom and protect the boom against damage by the buckets of the bucket elevator. A cross brace 5% connecting all of the tubular members 52 through 55 is provided for strength and rigidity, and similarly longitudinal truss members 59 are provided along the length of the boom to insure structural strength.

The boom sections 50 and 51 are joined together at their ends along which the Figure 7 has been taken on line 77. Two side plates 62 and 63 have been provided which are adapted to be bolted together, as shown, to provide for this connection. An additional bottom plate 64 is provided with the side plates to furnish a secure arrangement.

The lower boom section 50 is provided at its lower end with two horizontally extending trunnion journals 70 and 71 through which a sprocket axle 72 is fitted. These journals 70 and 71 are of somewhat enlarged diameter at their ends 73 and 74, respectively, as shown in Figure 2, to accommodate support webs 75 and 76 for securing the same to the bottom of theboom section 59. Further, these end journal sections 73 and 74 have stop pins 78 and '79 to prevent the trunnion journals from moving axially with respect to the trunnion supports 42 and 43, in which the trunnion journals are fitted in a trunnion arrangement.

The axle 72 is supplied with a pulle wheel S1, as shown in Figure 3, which is adapted to be provided with a pulley belt 32 shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 for connection to a motor 29. Also secured to the axle 72 is a sprocket Wheel 83 which receives a sprocket chain 84.

As shown in this invention, the sprocket chain 8 is provided with a plurality of buckets 85, but it is to be understood that various types of hoisting elements could be used. The sprocket chain 84, as shown in Figure l, is secured and positioned at the top end of the boom section 51 by a top sprocket wheel 86. This sprocket wheel is adjustable to a limited degree along the axis of the boom to provide for take-up of slack in the sprocket chain.

The adjustment means of the top sprocket wheel 86 is shown generally in Figure 1 and more particularly in Figures 5 and 6. The sprocket Wheel is secured to an axle 9i journaled in two pillow blocks 91 and 92. These pillow blocks are adapted to move vertically on tracks 93 and 94, as shown in Figure 5. These tracks for both pillow blocks 91 and 92 are similar in all respects, but are, of course, reversely positioned. The tracks 93 and 94 are composed of two members 5 and 6 which are secured to the tubular members 55 and 54, respectively, and have a grove in the corner constituting the tracks 93 and 94 along which the edges of the pillow block ride.

Both pillow blocks 91 and- 92 are provided with depending shafts 101 and 102 which are connected to] a contact plate 103. The contact plate 103 is fastened to a depending bracket 104 which, in turn, is secured to a spring 165. The spring 105 is attached at its opposite end to a cross brace 105 on the upper boom section 51.

The control mechanism for the adjustment of the pillow blocks and the sprocket wheel center around an cecentric cam 110, which is composed of two cam plates 111 and 112 against which contact plate 193 bears. Both of these cam plates are fixed to a shaft 113 which is journaled within cross pieces 114 and 115 attached to the boom section. A handle 116 extends at right angles to the shaft in order to provide for proper rotation.

The boom support 13, generally indicated in Figure l and more particularly shown in Figure 2, includes a tubular frame having side arms 120 and 121. These side arms are generally symmetrical and are connected by a cross brace 122. Depending from these arms are legs to which are attached, at the bottom, support legs 123. Each of the support legs is provided with a slidable clamp 124 having a plurality of wedge washer plates 1Z5 therein through which the legs 123 pass. At the ends of the legs 123 there is a screw clamp 126 having a handle 127.

The tubular frame of the support 13 is provided at its front with a section 139 and another section 132. This latter section is connected by a union 133 to a length of tubing 134. Both the open ends of the tubing 134 and the section are provided with holes to receive trunnion members 135 and 136 of the boom support element 137. The boom support element 137 has a main bottom section 138 and two legs 140 and 141. Both of these legs are provided with holes to receive a pin 142 having a handle 143. A stop member 144 is secured to the section 130 in alignment with the locked position of the pin to prevent its accidental dislodgment.

Assembly and use The bucket elevator apparatus of this invention is first assembled by placing the base support 11 in a selected position, after which the motor 29 may be secured to the base plate 22. Then the base section 50 of the boom may be placed in the trunnion support by inserting the trunnion journals 79 and 71 within the trunnion bearings so that the stops 78 and 79 will prevent it from sliding out of position. After this has been effected, the upper boom section 51 may be secured to the lower boom section 50 with these sections extending on the ground by bolting together their ends. Since the boom can rotate within the trunnion, this can be done by having the boom extending counterclockwise and to the left along the ground with respect to the position shown in Figure 1.

After this has been effected, the endless chain 84 can be connected to the sprocket Wheels and the pillow blocks are roughly adjustedby selecting the proper chain length and connecting them. Subsequently, the proper adjustment and takeup of slack is effected by turning the handle 116 of the eccentric shaft 113. This forces the cam plates 111 and 112 toward or away from the contact plate 193 of the pillow blocks against the biasing action of the spring 105 depending on the rotational position of said cam plates. This simple rotary operation of the eccentric permits a very easy adjustment of the pillow blocks and the upper sprocketwheel 86 to the desired position. Alternatively, this adjustment can be effected after the boom has been erected, as will be clearly understood. After the boom has been assembled, it may be easily hoisted by means of the-trunnion against the support 13 by attaching a hoisting rope to the upper end of the boom and pulling it up to the roof.

The boom support 13 is preliminarily secured to the roof cornice 14 byfirst of all roughly positioning the clamp 124, whichin. the free position can be pushed backward and forward on the lower legs 123 by proper- 1y tilting the wedge plates 125, as is well understood in this art. This effects the roughadjustment and the final clamping operation of the clamp 126 is effected by tightening of the handle 127.

After these steps have been accomplished, the boom is positioned against the support element 137 so that the lower tubular sections 53 and 54 bear against the bottom section 138. It should be noted that the section 134 can be assembled or withdrawn through the use of the union 133. The support element 137 can easily be inserted between the bottom of the boom and the endless chain 84 where the chain is already assembled on the boom when it is erected.

After the boom has been positioned so that its bottom rests against the section 138 of the support element, the locking pin 142 can be inserted within the holes of the leg sections 140 and 141 of the support element. This pin prevents removal of the boom from the boom support. After this insertion has been efiected, the handle 143 is allowed to drop to a natural position where it cannot be dislodged or removed from the support element. The handle in this natural position is prevented from being removed by the stop member 144, and a physical rotation for removal is then required.

Once the boom has been erected and positioned, the motor may be finally adjusted so that the pulley belt 82 running between the bottom sprocket pulley wheel 81 and the pulley wheel of the motor is properly tensioned. Since the motor through its pivotable base plate can pivot about the pin 32, the motor can be raised or lowered to loosen or tighten the pulley belt. This raising and lowering and adjustment of the motor base plate is effected by raising or lowering of the adjustment nuts 33 and 34. When the desired position has been efiected, the tightening nut 35 is then secured to prevent the movement of the base plate and to provide a firm base which will resist the jars and vibrations encountered in the operation.

Once assembled, the elevator of this invention can be used either with the buckets, as shown, or other types of lifting elements to transport articles from the ground up to the roof of a building or any structure in the process of being erected, and the like. It is a single feature of this invention that the boom may be removed from the boom support 13 in a minimum of time to permit the disassembly of the apparatus by rotating the pin 143 and withdrawing it. Then the section 134 is removed through the loosening of the union and the support element 137 may then be removed. Thus, where it is desired to change the height of a boom from, say, a second story level to a third story level, this procedure can be accomplished and the boom can be moved so that it rotates to the left counterclockwise on its trunnion and is placed in position on the ground. An intermediate section or sections of desired length can then be inserted between the bottom boom section 50 and the top boom section 51.

Further, the adjustment of the sprocket chain tensioning through the movement of the top sprocket wheel 86 within its pillow blocks can be performed either on the ground by the proper rotation of the eccentric 110, or this may be accomplished after the boom has been elevated and properly positioned. This adjustment is effected, as previously mentioned, by rotating the cam plates through the handle connected to the shaft extending through said plates.

Various changes and modificationsmay be made in this invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such obvious changes and modifications are within the teaching of this invention, and it is to be understood that the scope thereof is not limited to the exact construction as shown.

What is claimed is:

1. An elevator of the type described, including a base having adjustable motor mounting means, trunnion bearing means, a boom having trunnion means adapted to fit directly into said bearing means and remain therein by the force of gravity alone, an endless belt supported at one end of the boom by a shaft passing through the trunnion means and supported at its other end by a second shaft secured to the free end of the boom and eccentric means for adjusting the endless belt carried by said boom independently of the trunnion means.

2. An elevator of the type described, including a base having a trunnion bearing means, a boom having trunnion means adapted to fit directly into said bearing means, said bearing means including spaced yoke elements open at their top, said boom being further provided with an endless belt guided by upper and lower guide wheels, said lower guide wheel being supported by a shaft passing through the trunnion means and eccentric means on the upper portion of said boom for adjusting the longitudinal position of said upper guide wheel with respect to said boom independently of the trunnion means.

3. An elevator of the type described, including a base having trunnion bearing means, a boom having trunnion means adapted to fit directly into said bearing means, said bearing means including spaced yoke elements open at their top, said boom being further provided with an endless belt guided by upper and lower guide wheels, said lower guide wheel being supported by a shaft passing through the trunnion means, said upper guide wheel being provided with an upper bearing means carried by and longitudinally movable upon said boom, and rotary means for adjusting the longitudinal position of said upper bearing means independently of the trunnion means.

4. An elevator of the type described, including a base having trunnion bearing means, a boom having trunnion means adapted to fit directly into said bearing means, said bearing means including spaced yoke elements open at their top, said boom being further provided with an endless belt guided by upper and lower guide wheels, said lower guide wheel being supported by a shaft passing through the trunnion means, said upper guide wheel being provided with an upper bearing means carried by and longitudinally movable upon said boom, and rotary means for adjusting the longitudinal position of said upper hearing means including a rotary cam element independently of the trunnion means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 176,916 Adams May 2, 1876 424,128 Post Mar. 25, 1890 697,998 Duncan Apr. 22, 1902 2,685,957 Schlesinger Aug. 10, 1954 

